Encoders Aren't Commodities

Ben’s encoder outputs completely valid h.264, but it doesn’t actually compress anything. (What do you expect from 30 lines!) In fact, because of the necessary h.264 headers, the output of Ben’s encoder is larger than the input.

This is a dramatic example of something that I find interesting about the codec marketplace: Decoders are commodities, but encoders are highly differentiated. People often mis-understand this dynamic, however.

A video decoder, if it works, has to follow the relevant specification. There are hundreds of “tricks” that a baseline profile h.264 encoder could use, and so a baseline-profile decoder must be able to handle all of them. So there’s really not room for a lot of differentiation between h.264 decoders. Sure, one decoder might use less CPU than another. But mostly, if you’re looking to buy a decoder, you should shop based on price.

Another way to say the same thing is that a codec specification details how to write a decoder. The spec lays out what a compliant bitstream looks like, and specifies how you turn that bitstream into video or audio.

Encoders, as Ben showed, are completely different beasts. An encoder author can pick which of the tools provided by the standard he or she will use. In the extreme case, as Ben did, he can choose to use almost none of the tools. Therefore, there can be a huge difference in compression efficiency—and thus video quality—between two encoders.

You might think this is obvious, but if so you should walk around the security industry’s ISC West trade show this week. You will find all sorts of vendors claiming that their h.264 DVR is the same as their competitor’s DVR, or claiming that their h.264 IP camera is better than a MPEG-4 IP camera. Maybe so, and maybe not: Just because h.264 is a more modern and complex codec than MPEG-4 part 2, it doesn’t automatically follow that a particular h.264 encoder is better than a particular MPEG-4 encoder.

Ultimately, the only way to compare two encoders is a head-to-head bakeoff, where each encoder is set to the same data rate and fed the same content, and you view decoded video from the two at the same time.

Howdy Pierce is a managing partner of Cardinal Peak with a technical background in multimedia systems, software engineering and operating systems.

Contact Us

Please fill out the contact form below and our engineering services team will be in touch soon.

Name*

Company*

Email*

Phone

How did you hear about us?*

Message*

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We rely on Cardinal Peak for their ability to bolster our patent licensing efforts with in-depth technical guidance. They have deep expertise and they’re easy to work with.

Diego deGarridoSr. Manager, LSI

Cardinal Peak has a strong technology portfolio that has complemented our own expertise well. They are communicative, drive toward results quickly, and understand the appropriate level of documentation it takes to effectively convey their work. In…

Jason DamoriDirector of Engineering, Biamp Systems

We asked Cardinal Peak to take ownership for an important subsystem, and they completed a very high quality deliverable on time.

Matt CowanChief Scientific Officer, RealD

Cardinal Peak’s personnel worked side-by-side with our own engineers and engineers from other companies on several of our key projects. The Cardinal Peak staff has consistently provided a level of professionalism and technical expertise that we…

Sherisse HawkinsVP Software Development, Time Warner Cable

Cardinal Peak was a natural choice for us. They were able to develop a high-quality product, based in part on open source, and in part on intellectual property they had already developed, all for a very effective price.

Bruce WebberVP Engineering, VBrick

We completely trust Cardinal Peak to advise us on technology strategy, as well as to implement it. They are a dependable partner that ultimately makes us more competitive in the marketplace.

Brian BrownPresident and CEO, Decatur Electronics

The Cardinal Peak team started quickly and delivered high-quality results, and they worked really well with our own engineering team.

Charles CorbalisVP Engineering, RGB Networks

We found Cardinal Peak’s team to be very knowledgeable about embedded video delivery systems. Their ability to deliver working solutions on time—combined with excellent project management skills—helped bring success not only to the product…

Ralph SchmittVP, Product Marketing and Engineering, Kustom Signals

Cardinal Peak has provided deep technical insights, and they’ve allowed us to complete some really hard projects quickly. We are big fans of their team.

Scott GarlingtonVP Engineering, xG Technology

We’ve used Cardinal Peak on several projects. They have a very capable engineering team. They’re a great resource.

Greg ReadSenior Program Manager, Symmetricom

Cardinal Peak has proven to be a trusted and flexible partner who has helped Harmonic to deliver reliably on our commitments to our own customers. The team at Cardinal Peak was responsive to our needs and delivered high quality results.

Alex DerechoVP Professional Services, Harmonic

Yonder Music was an excellent collaboration with Cardinal Peak. Combining our experience with the music industry and target music market, with Cardinal Peak’s technical expertise, the product has made the mobile experience of Yonder as powerful as…

Adam Kidronfounder and CEO, Yonder Music

The Cardinal Peak team played an invaluable role in helping us get our first Internet of Things product to market quickly. They were up to speed in no time and provided all of the technical expertise we lacked. They interfaced seamlessly with our i…

Kevin LeadfordVice President of Innovation, Acuity Brands Lighting

We asked Cardinal Peak to help us address a number of open items related to programming our systems in production. Their engineers have a wealth of experience in IoT and embedded fields, and they helped us quickly and diligently. I’d definitely…